Questioning Authority: An Interview with Street Artist Leba

May 02, 2010 | Comments 8

Street Art by Leba

In a time where leadership has continuously failed us and consumerism seeps into and shapes every experience of our lives, how does one balance the vulgar displays of power imposed on us in the name of money and greed. We become docile participants allowing the consumerist culture to impose it’s imprint on us so deep that you forgot what normal even was.

One can easily feel powerless in the face of these systems so large and overwhelming, our natural reaction is to simply give in and sit in front of our Tv’s and drink our latte.

How does one even try to “fight the power”…For Leba it is one art piece at a time.

Leba challenges the icons of power and continuously questions the political and consumer landscape all around us. Whether it is though the monsterfication of our Presidents, alterations of advertisements and billboards, he is here to remind us from his perspective of how far we have gone astray. His work is meaningful and prolific and can be found all over Los Angeles. They are monuments and a call to action for all of us to to wake up and question power again.

Could you tell me how you got your name?

Its a mystery actually, only a few illuminated heads know the names meaning and origin.

Why do you do street art?

I create art on the street because its a way to connect to everyday people without filters. If you show in a gallery, there is someone who makes that call, who says, “this is art” or “this is meaningful” when you give your work to the streets its open, its free, and you can say whatever you want. You can say the things that need to be said.

George Washington, Street Art by Leb

One of you reoccurring themes in your work is the use of Presidents, could you tell me a little bit about what is behind this?

It started as an exercise, I wanted to combine two meaningful images to create a brand new idea, after some playing around, I somehow landed on the fanciful idea of taking the heads of old American leaders, who carry a lot of meaning and philosophical weight, and combine them with the bodies of monsters, which carry a lot of darkness and meaning, the result was intriguing and meaningful, so I started to put them out in the streets for everyone to enjoy and wonder about.

To me the monster president series personifies the the idea of what “to me” America has become, to Americans and the whole world, A vampire, a Frankenstein, a Ware wolf. a Nightmare. Pretty much Americas’ face, on a monster.

You do some amazing alterations including your Jack in Box, Adult Con and American Apparel Ads. Were these pieces targeted specifically with intention, or did they just lend themselves well to alteration?

Its just an extension of being able to say what you really want, what you really think, and to communicate that message to others in a large scale and meaningful way. The greatest thing about being a street artist is YOU ARE a voice for the people! You can do for $3.50, basically the cost of a can of spray paint, what an ad agency would pay a hundred thousand dollars for. We can ad jam, and we can say what needs to be said. We can step in where the news and media are failing, this is a call to action! If you work in the streets, SAY SOMETHING, don’t just push your moniker, there’s too much that needs to be talked about, important things are falling behind the lady gaga headlines…

American Apparel Alteration, Street Art by Leba - Photo by Free Humanity

Where would you like to see yourself artistically 5 years from now?

I would like to be using my art to work with the community, to push community based initiatives, painting large murals and using art to challenge social issues, and also to just make someones day a little brighter by making them laugh. I’m in it for Joy, and knowledge.

What was your first street art experience like? Or is there any memorable ones you can recall?

Hmm, it was soo long ago, the first piece I did was in San Diego, It was of a skeleton drinking from a giant whiskey bottle, which was supposed to mean being a drunk sucked, and was dangerous, “I had made it after a friend was having a huge bout with booze” hilariously enough, the bars and clubs I would put these things up on, would actually keep them up! they liked them! You can still see one of these stickers on the front door of the Goat Hill in Costa Mesa, Sometimes you just have to laugh…

One time me and a few friends “alec and free humanity” were out pasting, and they wanted to hit this empty billboard on top of a shop somewhere in la, I didn’t have a piece for it so I stayed ground level and started painting some friendly characters on the wall of the building while they were busy working on top of this small building. I was happy painting when out of the corner of my eye I see three guys running after me from the parking lot swearing and yelling, I start running while they chased me around a the block, and lost them around a corner, as soon as I stopped to rest a security guard runs out and starts yelling “hey you” the chase was on again, this time I had to run around 4 blocks to lose him, the whole time I was thinking, man…. alec and free have been busted and are going to jail for sure, I ran back to where they were, making sure to stay out of sight, making it all the way back to the building only to find they were still on top of the building pasting like nothing had happened, they had no idea what had happend, and just laughed when they heard the story an hour later when they had come down.

Is there anything you are dissatisfied with right now?

Apathy. Were never going to make it out of here if the way we measure a man is by the size of his rims.

We are in the beginning of the second great depression, and we’re being held captive by economic suicide bombers,

everyone needs to take care of those close to them, and be ready for anything. because something big is brewing…

everyone needs to wake up…

What is your favorite movie or tv show?

My favorite movie is American Beauty, but that makes perfect sense doesn’t it? hahaha. I’m against most TV, I prefer to play the guitar with friends.

Which artist do you admire?

So many, I’ll name a few

Caleb Neelon, I don’t know him personally, but I picked up his book “Caleb Neelson’s Book of Awesome” and its just amazing, If you haven’t experienced this guy’s work, scope it here http://www.theartwheredreamscometrue.com/

If your reading this Caleb, lets do a mural together!

Richard Colman, He started out as a street artist, and then moved into galleries, I found his book “I was just leaving” in San-Francisco while fighting on the phone with an old love, his work is creepy, but playful. http://www.richardcolmanart.com/

Joy Lui, she doenst really work in the field of creating art so much anymore, but has a huge heart and is a facilitator for art and community initiatives, she specializes in working with non-profits, we’ll see some big things coming from her in the coming years.

Miko Aho, an artist who’s been working and doing amazing work for years,

you can see some of his accomplishments here http://www.mikeahoart.com/

friends with you, they make some very magical art.

http://www.friendswithyou.com/

What 5 words best describe you?

Socially minded, active, humble, quick, humble, what can i say? i like humble…

For more of Leba’s work, check out Leba’s site at account at http://www.lebaxxx.com/